


Raindrops On Roses

by ellacj



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Blind Character, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-05
Updated: 2014-10-05
Packaged: 2018-02-19 22:46:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2405654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ellacj/pseuds/ellacj
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Regina just wants to see the sunset.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Raindrops On Roses

**Author's Note:**

> In honor of the fact that I watched "Cloudburst" on Netflix and it tore my heart out, have a blind!Regina fic with a side of feels (:

“Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens,” Regina murmurs along with the music, setting the table according to Henry’s gentle instructions. They get all the way to the second verse before the CD begins its glitch. They’ve had it for so long, played it so many times, it’s a wonder it still works at all.

_"Raindrops on roses"_

_"Raindrops on roses"_

_"Raindrops on roses"_

“I’m home,” Emma calls over the music. Regina straightens, accepting the kiss Emma plants on her lips and the rose that’s carefully pressed into her hands. “Happy Friday, lovely.”

Regina smiles. “I’ve been waiting for you to get home.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes. I’m starving.”

Emma smirks, gently swatting Regina’s shoulder, and moves to the stove while Henry places the rose in the vase on the table and they settle into their normal Friday routine. Emma comes home, bringing Regina a single red rose, and cooks dinner – eggs. It’s the only thing she can make without ruining. So every Friday they have eggs five different ways and they sing along to the CD that they never seem to turn off.

“We really should get a new one,” Emma muses, just as she does every single time the CD glitches on that line. But they never do. It’s Regina’s favorite line, and they’ve come to love the skip so much they’d never be able to part with it.

Once they’re done with dinner, Henry nudges Emma’s shoulder. “Ma,” he whispers, gesturing out the window to the sky, now turning from blue to a soft golden color.

And just as they do every night, Emma and Regina go outside to sit in the lawn chairs on the patio and watch the sunset together.

“It’s getting darker,” Emma comments. “The sky is sort of orange. It’s a pretty orange though; really warm and nice.”

Regina smiles, glancing up at the sky as though she can see it. “What are the shapes of the clouds?”

“Well there’s a donkey over there. Doing shots with a couple of nuns.”

“You’re terrible,” Regina laughs.

Emma glances up at the sky again, frowning as the first raindrops begin to fall. Regina jumps as one hits her cheek. “It’s okay,” Emma murmurs, gently kissing her. “It’s only the rain.”

 

“Henry says you’re beautiful,” Regina murmurs one night as they’re lying in bed.

“Does he?”

Regina nods. “He says I’m beautiful too.”

“You are,” Emma whispers, kissing the top of her head.

“I wish I could see it. I want to see how beautiful you are.” Reaching up, Regina toys with a piece of blonde hair. “I wish I could see the red roses you bring me.”

Emma kisses her head again. “You’re not missing out on much.”

“What color are your eyes, Emma?”

“Green. Sometimes they’re kinda bluish though.”

Regina gently strokes the curve of Emma’s cheek, burying her face in blonde curls. “Sing me to sleep?”

Emma smiles and softly begins the song she knows Regina wants to hear. “ _Raindrops on roses_ …”

 

One Friday, Emma gets home from work extra early. Regina and Henry are out shopping, so she puts the rose in the vase herself and gets to work making dinner.

And she waits.

She hums softly to the _Sound of Music_ soundtrack playing in the background as she works. Honestly, she’s not sure how they’ve managed not to get sick of it by now, but somehow they never do.

She waits a little longer.

By the time she gets the call the food is cold, the rose is drooping over in the vase, and the sky has turned orange outside and all Emma can think is that Regina doesn’t know what it looks like tonight.

“Hello?” she says when she answers the phone.

“Ma, it’s me,” Henry replies. “You’ve got to get to the hospital.”

Emma’s fingers tighten around her phone. “Why?”

“It’s Mom. I was driving home, and there was an accident, and… Ma, she’s not doing well. We need you here.”

“I’m on my way.”

The ten-minute drive seems to take hours and by the time she pulls into the parking lot, it’s already dark and Regina hasn’t seen the sunset tonight. She missed it. “Is she okay?” she demands of Henry as soon as she sees him.

“They’re doing all they can, but it’s not looking good. They slammed right into the passenger’s side, Ma. Right into her.”

They won’t let either of them back to see Regina; not until a nurse comes out and says, “There’s nothing more we can do.”

“Sh-She’s gone?” Emma stammers.

“Not quite. She’s got a few minutes left. You can go say goodbye.”

Emma’s pushed past her before she can even finish, storming down the hall until she finds Regina’s room. “Regina.” Her voice comes out a choked sound.

“Emma?”

“Regina, please.” Emma grips her hand, willing her to hang on. “I need you.”

“Did the sun already set?”

Emma smiles despite herself, squeezing Regina’s hand impossibly tighter. “Yeah. It was just the same as always. Nice and warm and orange. The donkey and the nuns were back tonight.”

Regina chuckles hoarsely. “Your eyes are green, but sort of blue sometimes.”

“Yeah. Yeah, they are.”

“I think I’m going to see them soon.”

“No, Regina don’t talk like that,” Emma begs.

“Where’s Henry?”

“I’m right here, Mom.” Emma turns around to face her son; she didn’t hear him come in earlier. He goes to take her other hand. “I’m right here.”

Regina squeezes both their hands. “Sing me to sleep?”

“Regina…”

“Emma, please. I want to hear your voice.”

Emma swallows once before she gathers herself enough to sing a broken rendition of Regina’s favorite song. “ _Raindrops on roses…_ ”

 

It’s four Fridays before Emma makes eggs again.

She and Henry eat in silence, until the sky outside turns orange. “I’m gonna go outside,” she says stiffly, pushing her chair back from the table.

Henry catches her hand. He doesn’t say anything; just squeezes and offers a comforting smile.

Emma takes the rose and the boombox from the table out to the patio, gently laying the flower in the lawn chair that used to be occupied by someone wonderful. The boombox gently plays the music to which Emma’s become so accustomed, as she gazes up at the sky. “It looks the same as it always does,” she says hoarsely. “Warm and nice and orange.” She scans the clouds until she finds one she knows Regina would love. “That one looks like a rabbit on a stripper pole.”

She turns to the single rose sitting alone in the chair, like it's trying to replace someone who's utterly irreplaceable. The first drop lands on the back of her hand. It’s only a few seconds before the rain starts hitting the petals of the rose, and Emma chooses to believe it’s not coincidence that the boombox hits the glitch at that moment.

_"Raindrops on roses"_

_"Raindrops on roses"_

_"Raindrops on roses"_

Emma looks up at the sky once more. Maybe Regina’s listening right now. Maybe she was right; maybe she can see her. Maybe she can see the orange sky and the red rose and Emma’s green-but-sometimes-kinda-bluish eyes. “Don’t worry, Regina,” she murmurs.

“It’s only the rain.”


End file.
